My sister made up these bins for times when things feel a bit crazy. She specifically talked about the time before dinner. Kids are in their crazy hour and you need to get dinner on the table. The concept is that you pull out the bins. You give each kid a bin, set the timer for 10 minutes and then you rotate. The ten minutes keeps them involved and interested in what is going on with their bin. Then they have something new in 10 minutes, which extends the total amount of time they’ll stay involved. I commented on how the bins seemed to accommodate the different age levels well. She said that she liked how some of the bins didn’t seem age appropriate. For example, an older kid might get a box full of rocks and shells, which might be geared toward the toddler age. She liked that kids would then need to use their imagination. Maybe the older kids would work on counting, classification or making different designs or patterns with the rocks. It’s kind of like the concept that kids can entertain themselves more with rock and stick than any toys you could buy. I believe she got all this stuff at the Dollar Store. Great ideas, Sis! Here are some of the bins she had made up:
1. Ice cube trays, glass “jewels”, little cups and pom poms.
3. Stickers & little pieces of paper make a sticker station.
4. Pipe Cleaners with Beads to make necklaces or bracelets.
5. Water Colors, a pencil and paper.
6. Coloring Books and Crayons.
I know she had a couple more including one with play doh. You could put in small puzzles or the popsicle stick puzzles you created. You could add your cardboard stackers to another bin. There are so many options to keep your kids busy during the crazy times.
I love it — I have been thinking about implementing this exact thing while I’m making dinner. I was even at Target looking at bins. 😉
It seemed to work well, Angie. Head to the dollar store to find some ideas too.
the shells one looks great
It’s funny. I thought the older ones would get bored of the shells, but no one seemed to mind. So great.
I love this idea!! I’ve heard of doing stations with kids rotating, but I love the concept of the station all being in a bin to control the mess!
Yeah – It was really easy set up and clean up. I just joined your site too. Love the tooth fairy alarm. We’ll start to get holes in the head this year, so I’ll have to keep it in mind.